Kevin Otec

PhD student

Contact

Department of Molecular Toxicology
Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig, Germany

Phone: +49 341 6025 3402

kevin.otec@ufz.de

Research Interest

Investigation of metabolic interactions within the microbial community of the human intestine.

Explanation of global metabolic changes within the gut microbiome due to extinction and/or establishment of single community members.

Scientific career

Since 2025

PhD candidate at th Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Department of Molecular Toxicology, Leipzig, Germany.

12/2022

Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Martin-Luther-University, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Thesis title: “Establishment of a purification strategy to isolate the nanos repressor complex from Drosophila melanogaster.”

12/2024

Master of Science in Biochemistry, University of Leipzig, Germany.
Thesis title: “Enhancing sucrose production in the cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by targeting a central regulatory mechanism.”

Publications

Becker, Nathalie Sofie; Hufnagel, Franziska; Bolay, Paul; Otec, Kevin; Orthwein, Tim; Kulik, Andreas et al. (2026): Conversion of CO2 into valuable products: Engineering the PirC-PGAM switch in cyanobacteria to direct carbon flux into desired products. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.05.703947

Department News

Final Thesis

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Recent Publications

2026 (7)

Dolci, S., Mannino, L., Rossi, E., Bottani, E., Ciarpella, F., Piazza, N., Karkossa, I., Di Chio, M., Savino, B., Lucidi, B., Pruonto, G., Barone, I., Campanelli, A., Cersosimo, F., Setten, E., Gianoli, S., Malik, Z., Busetto, G., Pezzotta, A., Castagna, A., Martinelli, N., Ferretti, S., Boschi, F., Doherty, A., Scupoli, M.T., Cavallini, C., Malpeli, G., Amenta, A., Sagripanti, L., Silani, V., Cristofori, P., Scanziani, E., Sandri, M., Pistocchi, A., Bossolasco, P., Endrizzi, M., Schubert, K., Fumagalli, G.F., Locati, M., Bifari, F., Decimo, I. (2026):
Tumor-associated macrophages enhance peripheral nerve tumor infiltration and spinal cord repair
Immunity 59 (2), 438 - 457.e16 10.1016/j.immuni.2025.12.016
Greiner-Haas, F., Türkowsky, D., Schwoch, S., Bischler, T., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Förstner, K., Sharma, C.M., Sawers, G., Goris, T., Lechner, U. (2026):
The PceA-orthologous reductive dehalogenase of Dehalococcoides mccartyi CBDB1 is involved in 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene respiration
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 102 (3), fiag005 10.1093/femsec/fiag005
Jäger, E., Peeva, V., Gnad, T., Haange, S.-B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Stäubert, C., Krumbholz, P., Heiker, J.T., Gebhardt, C., Krügel, U., Sen, P., Harazin, M., Stab, V., Münzker, J., Hamdani, N., Pfeifer, A., von Bergen, M., Till, A., Fenske, W.K. (2026):
Antibiotic-mediated modulation of the gut microbiome identifies taurine as a modulator of adipocyte function through TGR5 signaling
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 27 (2), art. 917 10.3390/ijms27020917
O’Rourke, K., Antepowicz, I., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen, M., Grintzalis, K. (2026):
Antibiotics induce metabolic and physiological responses in Daphnia magna
Water 18 (2), art. 265 10.3390/w18020265
Uthoff, C., Yakovlyeva, Y., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Haange, S.-B., Alkassab, A.T., Pistorius, J., Brix, F., Waschina, S., Thurn, A.S., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M. (2026):
Comprehension of the age-dependent gut and brain interaction of honey bee workers by integration of multi omics approaches
J. Adv. Res. 82 , 469 - 483 10.1016/j.jare.2025.07.045
Wray, C., Castañeda-Monsalve, V., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U.E., Schweiger, N., Gutsfeld, S., Ghosh, D., Kader, S., Tyler, C.R., Jehmlich, N., Tal, T. (2026):
Integration of human microbiota (SIHUMIx) and zebrafish models reveals microbiome-mediated host responses to azoxystrobin
Toxicol. Sci. 10.1093/toxsci/kfag022
Wray, C., Castañeda-Monsalve, V., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U.E., Schweiger, N., Gutsfeld, S., Ghosh, D., Kader, S., Tyler, C.R., Jehmlich, N., Tal, T. (2026):
Dataset for Integration of human microbiota (SIHUMIx) and zebrafish models reveals microbiome-mediated host responses to azoxystrobin (v.2) [Data set]
Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.18433571

2025 (45)

Aldehoff, A.S., Karkossa, I., Broghammer, H., Krupka, S., Weiner, J., Goerdeler, C., Nuwayhid, R., Langer, S., Wabitsch, M., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Klöting, N., Blüher, M., Heiker, J.T., von Bergen, M., Schubert, K. (2025):
Advanced proteomics approaches hold potential for the risk assessment of metabolism-disrupting chemicals as omics-based NAM: A case study using the phthalate substitute DINCH
Environ. Sci. Technol. 59 (31), 16193 - 16216 10.1021/acs.est.5c01206
Aldehoff, A.S., Türkowsky, D., Lohmann, P., Homsi, M.N., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Ueberham, E., Lehmann, J., von Bergen, M., Jehmlich, N., Haange, S.-B. (2025):
Revealing novel protein interaction partners of glyphosate in Escherichia coli
Environ. Int. 195 , art. 109243 10.1016/j.envint.2024.109243
Alshetty, D., Shiva Nagendra, S.M., Mueller, A., Schlink, U. (2025):
Distribution of polycyclic aromatic compounds among various phases in an urban road microenvironment of a tropical megacity
Atmos. Environ-X 25 , art. 100309 10.1016/j.aeaoa.2024.100309
Bisle, E., Haange, S.-B., Rojas, R., Behnke, A., Karabatsiakis, A., Gumpp, A., Mack, M., Mavioglu, R.N., Lutz-Bonengel, S., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Mielcarek, A., von Bergen, M., Kolassa, I-T. (2025):
Serum metabolomics in women with major depressive disorder: Associations with mitochondrial function, inflammation, and oxidative stress
Psychiatry Res. 351 , art. 116569 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116569
Canzler, S., Schubert, K., Rolle-Kampczyk, U.E., Wang, Z., Schreiber, S., Seitz, H., Mockly, S., Kamp, H., Haake, V., Huisinga, M., von Bergen, M., Buesen, R., Hackermüller, J. (2025):
Evaluating the performance of multi-omics integration: a thyroid toxicity case study
Arch. Toxicol. 99 (1), 309 - 332 10.1007/s00204-024-03876-2
Castañeda-Monsalve, V., Haange, S.-B., Fröhlich, L.-F., Fu, Q., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen, M., Jehmlich, N. (2025):
Food colorant brilliant blue causes persistent functional and structural changes in an in vitro simplified microbiota model system
ISME Commun. 5 (1), ycaf050 10.1093/ismeco/ycaf050
Engelmann, B. (2025):
Comprehension of the age-dependent gut and brain interaction of honeybee workers by integration of multi omics approaches
UCSD Metabolomics Workbench 10.21228/M8SV5J
Engelmann, B. (2025):
13C Metabolic Tracing in Human SGBS Cells Provides a Potential New Approach Methodology for Assessing Metabolism-Disrupting Properties
UCSD Metabolomics Workbench 10.21228/M8JN9T
Ghosh, D., Jehmlich, N. (2025):
Rhizosphere bacterial community in re-used cover crop root channels initiate responses against drought
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE)
Ghosh, D., Jehmlich, N., Müller, J.A. (2025):
qPCR datasets of the quantification of bacterial communities in the maize-reused cover crop root channels subjected to drought stress in three different soil types found in Germany [Data set]
Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.14917325
Ghosh, D., Shi, Y., Zimmermann, I.M., Holzhauser, K., von Bergen, M., Kaster, A.-K., Spielvogel, S., Dippold, M.A., Müller, J.A., Jehmlich, N. (2025):
Cover crop root channels promote bacterial adaptation to drought in the maize rhizosphere
Glob. Change Biol. 31 (9), e70512 10.1111/gcb.70512
Goerdeler, C., Engelmann, B., Broghammer, H., Aldehoff, A.S., Wabitsch, M., Schubert, K., Blüher, M., Heiker, J.T., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen, M. (2025):
¹³C metabolic tracing in human SGBS cells provides a potential new approach methodology for assessing metabolism-disrupting properties of environmental chemicals
J. Hazard. Mater. 500 , art. 140384 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.140384
Gómez-Olarte, S., Röder, S., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Sack, U., von Bergen, M., Borte, M., Zenclussen, A.C., Herberth, G. (2025):
Prenatal exposure to mixtures of phthalates and bisphenol A and eczema risk: findings in atopic and non-atopic children from the LiNA birth cohort
Environ. Res. 278 , art. 121667 10.1016/j.envres.2025.121667
Gwak, J.-H., Olabisi, A., Lee, U.-J., Abiola, C., Lee, S., Do, H., Choi, Y.J., Lee, J.-J., Jung, M.-Y., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Wagner, M., Awala, S.I., Quan, Z.-X., Rhee, S.-K. (2025):
Hypoosmolarity inhibits archaeal ammonia oxidation
bioRxiv 10.1101/2025.07.07.663500
Hagemann, T., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Schubert, K., Dietrich, A., von Bergen, M., Blüher, M., Hoffmann, A. (2025):
Human adipose tissue gene expression signatures indicate an inflammatory response and retinoic receptor activation under persistent organic pollutants exposure
Environ. Adv. 21 , art. 100655 10.1016/j.envadv.2025.100655
Heyer, R., Wolf, M., Benndorf, D., Uzzau, S., Seifert, J., Grenga, L., Pabst, M., Schmitt, H., Mesuere, B., Van Den Bossche, T., Haange, S.-B., Jehmlich, N., Di Luca, M., Ferrer, M., Serrano-Villar, S., Armengaud, J., Bode, H.B., Hellwig, P., Masselot, C.R., Léonard, R., Wilmes, P. (2025):
Metaproteomics in the One Health framework for unraveling microbial effectors in microbiomes
Microbiome 13 , art. 134 10.1186/s40168-025-02119-5
Jehmlich, N. (2025):
Abstracts of the 3rd International Electronic Conference on Microbiology
Biol. Life Sci. Forum 46 (1), art. 3 10.3390/blsf2025046003
Kakavas, D., Engelmann, B., Krauss, M., Rolle-Kampczyk, U.E., Rochfort, K.D., Grintzalis, K. (2025):
Excreted metabolite nanocoronas impact metabolic and toxicity responses of daphnids to silver nanoink
Environ. Res. 283 , art. 122131 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122131
Kronstein-Wiedemann, R., Thiel, J., Brändle, D., Sürün, D., Teichert, M., Künzel, S.R., Schubert, K., Friedrich, U., Dahl, A., Buchholz, F., Hölig, K., Tonn, T. (2025):
Restoration of actin network dynamics by scinderin knockout in immortalized erythroid cells plays a key role in effective blood pharming
Cytotherapy 27 (5), S97 10.1016/j.jcyt.2025.03.186
Krupka, S., Aldehoff, A.S., Goerdeler, C., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Schubert, K., Klöting, N., von Bergen, M., Blüher, M. (2025):
Metabolic and molecular characterization, following dietary exposure to DINCH, reveals new implications for its role as a metabolism-disrupting chemical
Environ. Int. 196 , art. 109306 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109306
Lipaeva, P., Drozdova, P., Vereshchagina, K., Jakob, L., Schubert, K., Bedulina, D., Luckenbach, T. (2025):
How to reproduce in the Siberian winter: Proteome dynamics reveals the timing of reproduction-related processes in an amphipod species endemic to Lake Baikal
Ecol. Evol. 15 (7), e71675 10.1002/ece3.71675
Murad, M., Reuken, P.A., Schubert, K., Reißing, J., Ibidapo-Obe, O., Große, K., Frissen, M., Haedge, F., El-Hassani, M., von Bergen, M., Bruns, T. (2025):
The prognostic significance of HDL-associated apolipoproteins in ascitic fluid from patients with cirrhosis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
Sci. Rep. 15 , art. 25714 10.1038/s41598-025-08238-1
Owen, R., de Macedo, G., Nerlich, J., Scharkin, I., Bartmann, K., Döbler, J., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U.E., Leuthold, D., Gutsfeld, S., Schweiger, N., Tal, T. (2025):
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) antagonizes gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors in larval zebrafish and mammalian models
Toxicol. Sci. 207 (2), 449 - 466 10.1093/toxsci/kfaf101
Owen, R., de Macedo, G., Nerlich, J., Scharkin, I., Bartmann, K., Döbler, J., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Leuthold, D., Gutsfeld, S., Schweiger, N., Tal, T. (2025):
Dataset for PFOS antagonism of GABA receptors in vertebrate models
Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.15394336
Pieńkowska, A., Fleischmann, J., Drabesch, S., Merbach, I., Wang, G., Nunes da Rocha, U., Reitz, T., Muehe, E.M. (2025):
Long-term organic fertilization shields soil prokaryotes from metal stress while mineral fertilization exacerbates it
Environ. Pollut. 382 , art. 126747 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126747
Rapöhn, I., Broghammer, H., Hoffmann, A., Möhlis, K., Moormann, A., Kaczmarek, I., Thor, D., Großkopf, H., Krieg, L., Karkossa, I., Schubert, K., von Bergen, M., Krause, K., Breitfeld, J., Kovacs, P., Klöting, N., Nuwayhid, R., Langer, S., Ghosh, A., Wolfrum, C., Stumvoll, M., Blüher, M., Heiker, J.T., Weinert, J. (2025):
Inhibition of adipocyte lipolysis by vaspin impairs thermoregulation in vivo
Nat. Commun. 16 , art. 11075 10.1038/s41467-025-66950-y
Raps, S., Aldehoff, A.S., Schmidt, C., Wagner, U., von Bergen, M., Rossol, M., Schubert, K. (2025):
Molecular characterisation of triclosan-induced inflammasome activation in human macrophages
Toxicol. Lett. 411 (Supplement), S186 - S187 10.1016/j.toxlet.2025.07.449
Reddy, L.R., Egerter, C., Jehmlich, N., Fiskal, A., Helmholz, L., Castronovo, S., Schweyen, P., Wulf, S.-E., Ternes, T., Wick, A., Meier, J. (2025):
New insights in the metabolic functions of freshwater sulfate reducing communities during steel corrosion by biophysicochemical, 16S rRNA gene sequence and metaproteomic analysis
Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad. 198 , art. 105995 10.1016/j.ibiod.2024.105995
Remih, K., Hufnagel, F.-M., Karl, A.S., Durkalski-Mauldin, V.L., Lee, W.M., Karvellas, C.J., Su, Z., Rule, J.A., Tomanová, P., Krieg, L., Karkossa, I., Schubert, K., von Bergen, M., Tacke, F., Luckhardt, S., Ziegler, N., Kannt, A., Engel, B., Taubert, R., Fontana, R.J., Strnad, P., US Acute Liver Failure Study Group, (2025):
Serum proteomics of adults with acute liver failure provides mechanistic insights and attractive prognostic biomarkers
JHEP Rep. 7 (5), art. 101338 10.1016/j.jhepr.2025.101338
Schlößer, S., Ullrich, A.-L., Modares, N.F., Schmitz, M.A., Schöneich, J., Zhang, K., Richter, I., Robrahn, L., Schraven, S., Nagai, J.S., Haange, S.-B., Jennings, S.A.V., Clavel, T., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Kiessling, F., Costa, I.G., Muncan, V., Repnik, U., von Bergen, M., Dupont, A., Hornef, M.W. (2025):
Salmonella infection accelerates postnatal maturation of the intestinal epithelium
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (1), e2403344122 10.1073/pnas.2403344122
Schubert, K., Aldehoff, A.S. (2025):
Effects of dietary DINCH exposure on the proteome, phosphoproteome and acetylome of adipose tissue of a murine diet induced model of obesity
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE)
Schubert, K., Aldehoff, A.S. (2025):
Effects of DINCH and MINCH exposure on the proteome of differentiating primary human stromal vascular fraction cells
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE)
Schubert, K., Aldehoff, A.S. (2025):
Effects of MINCH exposure on the phosphoproteome of differentiating human SGBS adipocytes
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE) 10.6019/PXD059416
Schubert, K., Aldehoff, A.S. (2025):
Effects of MINCH exposure on the proteome of differentiating human SGBS adipocytes
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE) 10.6019/PXD059428
Schubert, K., Aldehoff, A.S. (2025):
Tissue proteome of visceral, subcutaneous and brown adipose as well as liver tissues in an obese mouse model after dietary exposure to the emerging phthalate substitute DINCH
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE) 10.6019/PXD054970
Schubert, K., Aldehoff, A.S. (2025):
Effects of MINCH exposure on the acetylome of differentiating human SGBS adipocytes
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE) 10.6019/PXD059390
Schubert, K., Aldehoff, A.S. (2025):
Identification of potential protein interaction candidates of MINCH in SGBS adipocytes using Thermal Proteome Profiling (TPP)
PRoteomics IDEntifications Database (PRIDE) 10.6019/PXD059386
Tanca, A., Schallert, K., Grenga, L., Peters, S.L., Abbondio, M., De Diego, L., Deledda, M.A., Haange, S.-B., Miotello, G., Sáenz, J.S., Wolf, M., Bastida, F., Devos, S., Hernandez-Raquet, G., Seifert, J., Wilmes, P., Van Den Bossche, T., Kunath, B.J., Heyer, R., Jehmlich, N., Benndorf, D., Hettich, R.L., Armengaud, J., Uzzau, S. (2025):
Critical Assessment of MetaProteome Investigation 2 (CAMPI-2): multi-laboratory assessment of sample processing methods to stabilize fecal microbiome for functional analysis
Microbiome 13 , art. 245 10.1186/s40168-025-02248-x
Thiel, J., Sürün, D., Brändle, D.C., Teichert, M., Künzel, S.R., Friedrich, U., Dahl, A., Schubert, K., Rzagalinski, I., Shevchenko, A., Traikov, S., Mirtschink, P, Wagenführ, L., Buchholz, F., Hölig, K., Tonn, T., Kronstein-Wiedemann, R. (2025):
Knock out of miRNA-30a-5p and reconstitution of the actin network dynamics partly restores the impaired terminal erythroid differentiation during blood pharming
Stem Cell Rev. Rep. 21 , 2637 - 2653 10.1007/s12015-025-10957-x
Uthoff, C., Herold, N., Alkassab, A.T., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Pistorius, J., Schweiger, N., Finckh, S., Krauss, M., Thum, A.S., Jehmlich, N., Tal, T., von Bergen, M. (2025):
Dataset for 'Cross-taxa sublethal impacts of plant protection products on honeybee in-hive and zebrafish swimming behaviours at environmentally relevant concentrations'
Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.16983482
Uthoff, C., Herold, N., Alkassab, A.T., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Pistorius, J., Schweiger, N., Finckh, S., Krauss, M., Thum, A.S., Jehmlich, N., Tal, T., von Bergen, M. (2025):
Cross-taxa sublethal impacts of plant protection products on honeybee in-hive and zebrafish swimming behaviours at environmentally relevant concentrations
Environ. Int. 203 , art. 109750 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109750
Van Den Bossche, T., Armengaud, J., Benndorf, D., Blakeley-Ruiz, J.A., Brauer, M., Cheng, K., Creskey, M., Figeys, D., Grenga, L., Griffin, T.J., Henry, C., Hettich, R.L., Holstein, T., Jagtap, P.D., Jehmlich, N., Kim, J., Kleiner, M., Kunath, B.J., Malliet, X., Martens, L., Mehta, S., Mesuere, B., Ning, Z., Tanca, A., Uzzau, S., Verschaffelt, P., Wang, J., Wilmes, P., Zhang, X., Zhang, X., Li, L., The Metaproteomics Initiative, (2025):
The microbiologist's guide to metaproteomics
iMeta 4 (3), e70031 10.1002/imt2.70031
Villette, R., Ortís Sunyer, J., Novikova, P.V., Aho, V.T.E., Petrov, V.A., Hickl, O., Busi, S.B., De Rudder, C., Kunath, B.J., Heintz-Buschart, A., Trezzi, J.-P., Halder, R., Jäger, C., Lebrun, L.A., Daujeumont, A., Schade, S., Janzen, A., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Laczny, C.C., May, P., Trenkwalder, C., Oertel, W., Mollenhauer, B., Wilmes, P. (2025):
Correction: Integrated multi-omics highlights alterations of gut microbiome functions in prodromal and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease
Microbiome 13 , art. 230 10.1186/s40168-025-02295-4
Villette, R., Ortís Sunyer, J., Novikova, P.V., Aho, V.T.E., Petrov, V.A., Hickl, O., Busi, S.B., De Rudder, C., Kunath, B.J., Heintz-Buschart, A., Trezzi, J.-P., Halder, R., Jäger, C., Lebrun, L.A., Daujeumont, A., Schade, S., Janzen, A., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Laczny, C.C., May, P., Trenkwalder, C., Oertel, W., Mollenhauer, B., Wilmes, P. (2025):
Integrated multi-omics highlights alterations of gut microbiome functions in prodromal and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease
Microbiome 13 , art. 200 10.1186/s40168-025-02227-2
Zenclussen, A.C., Belmar Erilkin, V., Böhmert, L., Borilova Linhartova, P., Braeuning, A., Braun, G., Chevrier, C., Duijts, L., Escher, B.I., Felix, J., Gómez-Olarte, S., Guxens, M., Herberth, G., Hilscherova, K., Klanova, J., Kohl, Y., Krischak, K., Lagadic-Gossmann, D., Langouët, S., Llop, S., Lopez-Espinosa, M.-J., Maitre, L., Martin-Chouly, C., Meyer, N., Ouidir, M., Pham, T.A.M., Philippat, C., Pieters, R., Pinel-Marie, M.-L., Podechard, N., Polte, T., Price, E., Robinson, O., Schubert, K., Schumacher, A., Stojanovska, V., Tal, T., Vineis, P., van Vorstenbosch, R., Vermeulen, R., Warembourg, C. (2025):
The ENDOMIX project: an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how real-life chemical mixtures target the immune system to trigger disease [version 2]
Open Research Europe 4 , art. 271 10.12688/openreseurope.19088.2